US government to release power over internet

The US Government has announced plans to reduce its power over the internet in resonance with the noise made by civil societies and whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden.

Some of the US government's responsibilities over the internet will be transitioned to stakeholders over the next year.

Among the many procedures to transfer is the coordination of the Domain Name System (DNS), which is the part of the internet that allows you to search for website names instead of number strings; and the administration of the authoritative root zone file, a database that holds the lists of names and addresses for all top-level domains.

These changes aim to restructure into what is called the multistakeholder model, a new body which will spread power across private groups and government representatives. This would include 'shareholders' such as civil societies and interested companies like Google.

A BBC report says the control the US government currently holds over the internet is linked to the way in which the web was made.

A change to this structure originally began in 1998 with the foundation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN); now, after many changed ideas, the transition is expected to finish in 2015, when the contract between ICANN and the US government expires, and when stakeholders should be positioned to take over.

To prepare for what is to come, the US commerce department will ask ICANN to hold a meeting, where all stakeholders can discuss proposals for the transition of the DNS.

After that point ICANN will oversee the 'handover of mice and keyboards' as control moves from the US government to the new body of stakeholders.

The future of the internet

These changes have come at a time when freedom and the open internet continue to be major concerns both for individuals and for business. Fadi Chehad